Blog Walnut Shortbread

15-Nov-14 By Ann Clark

When you think of Hanukkah cookies, you may picture filled and rolled rugelach or light, crunchy mandelbrot. While these traditional favorites are delicious, many people also include rolled sugar cookies in their holiday baking—they're fun to decorate, and they add color and interest to any tray or gift box of holiday cookies. This year, instead of plain vanilla cookies, why not try walnut shortbread? These buttery nut cookies owe their incredibly light, crisp, and tender texture to two things: the use of confectioners' sugar rather than granulated, and a longer baking time at a lower oven temperature than most rolled cookies. The walnuts are lightly toasted ahead of time to bring out their flavor and then ground fine. The dough comes together in a snap. It's an easy and delicious recipe that deserves to become part of your holiday baking tradition—and your year-round baking repertoire.